JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 14

Express Train to Florence

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind is back from the holiday break, unless you’re one of those who watched the recap episode last week, in which case, why did you do that to yourself? There was a time that I watched recap episodes, but that time is now long gone.

In this episode, Buccellati’s team finally have the key from the boss and make it to the place where the key is supposed to be used. I had previously assumed the key would be to an airplane or helicopter of some sort, but when it was revealed that the key was to be used at a train station, I started to have my doubts.

So, is this the key to a train as the location and title of this episode implies? Not exactly. While the JoBros do get on a train, this isn’t actually what the key from the boss is for. Instead the key fits into the shell of a turtle found in a fountain on the train platform.

Upon inserting the key into the turtle’s shell, the JoBros are sucked into a room inside the turtle where they’re safe from harm, or at least direct attacks. If you’re new to JoJo’s, then the fact that a turtle has a stand may seem even more bizarre than everything else you’ve seen so far, but in fact there have been multiple animals with stands across the parts.

So, the fact that a turtle has a stand isn’t something that bothers me, but I’m not really seeing why it’s necessary in the first place based on what we know of it so far. The turtle’s stand may be explained further in future episodes, but for now it simply seems as a way to hide, and not a very good one at that.

Turtle vs. Sticky Fingers

At firs glance the turtle’s stand seems extremely useful, but it seems to have a lot of downsides which would make me think twice about using it. For starters, it’s not the most inconspicuous place to hide considering anyone who sees a turtle on a train with a giant gold key in its shell is going to be suspicious.

Then, once they become suspicious of said turtle, they’ll likely inspect it closer, which will then probably suck them inside the turtle’s stand along with anyone who’s hiding there. Sure, you might be able to get the drop on the intruder, but it could easily work the other way around.

But, let’s pretend that the person inspecting the turtle from the outside doesn’t get sucked into the stand and is actually locked out, something which is implied to not be the case by the fact that Mista is guarding the ceiling (entrance). Wouldn’t that make the turtle’s stand a good hiding spot?

Well, no. If the aggressor doesn’t get sucked into the room of the turtle’s stand upon touching the turtle, then what’s stopping them from simply tossing the turtle into the ocean? It’s not a sea turtle, so it would sink, then die, leaving whoever’s stuck inside the stand to the same fate.

But, sure, the turtle could do it’s best to hide and simply not be found in the first place. However, if you’re looking for a better way to hide, then why not simply use Buccellati’s Sticky Fingers?

Just as he used his stand’s ability to hide Polpo’s fortune inside of a urinal, Buccellati could create a pocket inside of literally anything on the train and just have everyone, including himself, hide inside it. This way, the whole group would be out of sight and there wouldn’t be any evidence they were there in the first place.

Unless it’s revealed that the turtle has some other stand ability, I’m really not seeing the purpose of using it over Sticky Fingers.

Prosciutto & Pesci

The two hitman squad members from whom Buccellati’s team are hiding inside the turtle’s stand are Prosciutto and Pesci. Prosciutto is the senior of the pair, and as such Pesci refers to him as “aniki.”

Since Pesci’s stand is the one which is revealed to us first, that’s the one I’ll start with. His stand is called Beach Boy and takes the form of a fishing rod. Pesci is then able to cast his hook straight through solid object, such as a metal door, and reel in any living person or creature he gets hold of.

The first time we see him use his stand he catches the conductor of the train simply by attacking him on purpose, but as we see at the end of the episode, this stand can also be used to set up traps. For example, Pesci sets up a trap on the air conditioner on/off button so that anyone who tries to turn it on will be hooked by his stand.

But, why would the on/off switch of the air conditioner at the front of the train be a good place for Pesci to set up his trap? This is due to how the next enemy stand of the episode, The Grateful Dead, works.

Prosciutto and The Grateful Dead

Prosciutto’s stand, The Grateful Dead, is a humanoid stand which has no body below the waist, and is covered with eyes. It’s ability is to secrete a gas which rapidly increases the aging process of all those who come in contact with it.

While this stand appears to have a fairly large area of effect, it doesn’t have a way to determine if someone is friend or foe. However, it’s not as if it increased the age of everyone within its range indiscriminately. Instead, the higher the body temperature of a person, the faster they age.

As is explained by Giorno, not only do women age slightly slower due to having a slightly lower average body temperature, but anyone can decrease the speed at which they age, or revert it completely, by cooling down their body. Of those in Buccellati’s team, Buccellati, Mista, and Trish were the only ones to have cold drinks, and so they’re experiencing lesser effects than the others.

In the end, it’s decided that Mista will venture out of the safety of the turtle’s stand, equipped with just his Sex Pistols and the last two ice cubes the group had to keep himself safe from The Grateful Dead. However, before he can take down the enemies, he’s caught by Pesci’s Beach Boy.

Conclusion

I’m not really all that interested in Pesci and his Beach Boy stand, but I am interested in Prosciutto’s The Grateful Dead stand. Luckily, although Mista was caught by Pesci and Beach Boy at the end of this week’s episode, next week’s episode title implies that The Grateful Dead will be the focus.

So, what are your thoughts on this week’s episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind? Which of the two new enemy stand are you most interested in? And, do you see a purpose in using the turtle’s stand over Sticky Fingers? Let me know down in the comments.

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